A divided federal appeals court dismissed the 64,000 acre Cayuga
land claim on Tuesday, ruling that the U.S. Supreme Court has
"dramatically altered the legal landscape" of Indian land claims.

Two judges of the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals said the
Cayuga Nation of New York and the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma
waited too long to reclaim their original reservation.
After 25 years of litigation,
they tossed the entire lawsuit, nullified $248 million
award to the tribes, and entered a judgment for the state of
New York.

The dramatic conclusion was based on an expansive
interpretation of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in the
Sherrill v. Oneida Nation case. Judge
Jose Cabranes and Judge Rosemary Pooler said the
high court, for the first time, ruled that Indian land
claims can be dismissed if they are too "disruptive"
to non-Indian communities.

"Under the Sherrill formulation, this type of possessory land
claim -- seeking possession of a large swath of central
New York State and the ejectment of tens of thousands of landowners
-- is indisputably disruptive," Cabranes wrote for the majority.

Therefore, non-Indians can raise defenses that would not otherwise be allowed
in tribal land claims cases, the majority reasoned.
In the case of New York, the state argued that the tribes waited too
long to seek possession and monetary damages for 64,000 acres that
were stolen a series of treaties that were never ratified
by the federal government, as required by federal law.

Even thought the court said it was "undisputed" that the transactions
were illegal, the judges refused to remedy the wrong due to lengthy
delay in the filing of the claim. They cited language in the
Sherrill case that referred to impact such a delay has on
the "justifiable expectations" of non-Indian communities.

The judges also said the nature of the initial complaint --
to claim possession of the 64,000 acres and eviction of current landowners --
presented far too much of a burden on non-Indians.
Even though a lower court ruled that ejectment is not an option
and that a $248 million judgment rather than land was a proper remedy,
Cabranes concluded the tribes should be penalized
for the way they framed the case 25 years ago.

"The nature of the claim as a 'possessory claim,' as characterized by the
district court,
underscores our decision to treat this claim like the
tribal sovereignty claims in Sherrill," the majority stated.

The decision prompted a lengthy dispute
from Judge Janet Hall. Although she agreed that the Sherrill
has changed the legal landscape, she said
"it does not reach as far as the majority reads it."

She said Sherrill certainly
bars the tribes from being awarded the land at issue.
But she said the claim at issue in that case -- whether the Oneida
Nation can revive its sovereignty over ancestral territories --
is not present in the Cayuga case.

"Nothing in City of Sherrill suggests a total bar on
the ability of Indian tribes to obtain damages for past wrongs where Congress has explicitly provided
for it," Hull wrote.

Hull said the majority overstated the effects of the Sherrill
case. The Supreme Court limits tribes to the type of legal "relief" they
seek in land claims cases but not the remedies --- such as monetary
damages -- available to them, the judge noted.

She also said the majority failed to justify its decision to treat
the United States in the same manner as the tribes. The federal government
intervened in the case as a trustee for the tribes and cannot
be subject to the "laches," or length of time, defense raised by the state, Hull argued.

The 2nd Circuit ruling is the latest fallout from the Sherrill
decision of March 29. Local governments have hit the Oneida Nation
with millions of dollars in bills for failing to pay property
taxes for land within its ancestral territory.

The Supreme Court, in the 8-1 decision, said it was careful not to
disturb its previous holding that the Oneida Nation has a right
to seek redress for the theft of 250,000 acres. But local officials
have used the decision to seek authority over tribe, as well as
the Cayuga Nation and the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe.

The Sherrill decision also effectively killed land claim
settlements for four tribes, including the two Cayuga tribes
and two tribes from Wisconsin. Gov. George Pataki (R)
had reached deals to allow the tribes to open casinos in
the Catskills in exchange for dropping their lawsuits.

Pataki has since submitted a bill to settle the St. Regis
Mohawk Tribe's claim for a casino.
But he said the 2nd Circuit ruling will definitely
play a role in future deals.

"Today's decision is a tremendous victory for property owners and taxpayers in
central New York," he said in a statement. "We will continue to take
whatever steps are necessary to protect New Yorkers –- from Grand Island to Long
Island –- as we move forward to resolve any remaining land claims within the
state."